Release and recovery; Narrowsburg family honored

When Brad Marchesin and his grandson Todd Bianchi announced on March 18 that they were going out for a Sunday afternoon motorcycle ride, Grandma Donna had Todd change into long pants, a leather jacket and boots. Little did she know that both her husband and her grandson would be critically injured moments later on Route 652, just over the Narrowsburg bridge.

They were struck by an impaired driver, Ida Campfield, who crossed into their lane causing severe injuries to them both. Campfield had reportedly been recently released from jail on a charge of drunken driving.

Brad’s leg was crushed and later amputated, and Todd sustained a complex break to his femur and is sporting four pins that are fastened to a long metal plate on the outside of his leg.

Still, the 10-year old Sullivan West student, who is currently being tutored at home as he is unable to return to school yet, is upbeat. He says he loves to go up and down stairs with his walker, which is temporarily keeping his weight off of his leg, and admits that he was more concerned about the stitches than the two operations that he has undergone.

Brad is recovering, walking with the aid of a walker, and is itching to graduate to crutches and spend the summer at his camper at Countryside Campground, where community members have constructed an outdoor ramp and deck.

And Donna, while exhausted from the daily trips to CMC in Scranton, PA and transporting her grandson to his medical team at the Lehigh Valley Hospital, is extremely grateful.

“This is hitting me so deep, that people who I don’t even know are so generous and giving,” she said. “Unfortunately, it takes something like this to pull people together.”

In one sense, the tragedy is a miracle and doctors are amazed that Brad is bouncing back with such vigor. “The doctors are telling him, ‘You are incredible.’ They didn’t think he was going to make it.” Todd is expected to make a full recovery.

And the community outreach continues on Saturday, June 9 at 3 p.m. with a Pig Roast at the Narrowsburg Inn. The rain date is June 10. The fundraising event will feature the barbecue, with salads, desserts, a cash bar, raffles, including a 50/50, and a DJ. The donation is $20. Those not able to attend the event can drop donations off at the Bank of America in Narrowsburg.

Tickets can be purchased by calling Donna at 845/252-3795 and are also available at the Narrowsburg Inn.

“It’s terrible to feel so helpless when something like this happens to your family,” she said. “But everyone’s prayers and thoughts have been so amazing. I am extremely grateful.”